1-Man’s Opinion-Thursday “They Just Don’t Learn-Do They”
“They Just Don’t Learn”
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You can pass all the rules you want. You can meet with them time and time again. You can remind them of what has happened in the past.
They just don’t remember-do they? They just don’t learn-do they?
The NFL, a year removed from the hideous trifecta of off field incidents with Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy and Ray Rice, now has to deal with more and the off season is just three days old.
We have the violent outburst of a brawl in a restaurant involving Buffalo Bills big money running back LeSean McCoy. And we have the continuing saga of the off the field issues that Johnny Manziel drags himself into. And we should have an NFL at its wits end trying to preserve the integrity of its shield, its game, its rosters.
Adrian Peterson, child beater, sat out a year, was paid nearly his full salary, and got back on the field this year. In Minnesota I guess memories are short, so they forgave or just forgot about the Peterson whupping of his son, as he led the NFL in rushing.
Hardy threatened to sit kill his ex-girlfriend, slapped her around, threatened her with a gun, sat out 2014, but yet was paid. He wound up in Dallas this year, with a full salary, though not much of a season. They cheered him in Dallas as only Cowboys fans can do.
Ray Rice’s sins have never been forgiven, the knockout punch of this fiancee, caught on video. Cut loose by the Baltimore Ravens, no one has forgotten the incident, and no one has picked him up. Maybe more because he has lots of mileage on him and running backs wake up old men pretty quickly.
So McCoy is about to be charged likely with felony assault for his part in a restaurant stomping incident. At the bottom of the pile were two off-duty police officers, End result, broken ribs, fractured orbital bone and a fractured skull. McCoy and at least one other former NFL player, and two other men, all caught on video in the midst of mayhem.
And then there is Johnny Manziel, the Browns young quarterback. Johnny Football, Johnny Drunk, Johnny in trouble. He hasn’t been disciplined by the league in his brief one and a half years in the league, but today’s mail has not yet arrived.
71-days in alcohol rehab last summer, and now four incidents, all involving either alcohol or possibly drugs since last October. Caught on video binge-drinking. Questioned about an off road incident with his girlfriend, while drinking. Now the probe of him slapping her three times, from a hotel lobby, to their car, to their condo. She suffering injuries. She pulling a knife trying to defend herself. He refusing requests to enter rehab for further evaluation. And the reports he showed up drunk for team meetings the last week of the season, when he was the starting quarterback. We think we know where this is headed.
For the NFL, I assume there will be some strong discipline. If I’m Roger Goodell, I don’t even pick up the phone if the Union calls. All they try to do is get whatever the sentence is, reduced. Instead of protecting their clients rights, they should be reminding their clients of the law.
Hey, LeSean McCoy can do whatever he wants in any bar in America. Good luck evading a ‘stomping’ conviction of an officer of the law. Johnny Manziel obviously would rather drink than be sober. His call also.
But for the NFL, no longer taking their money, or suspending them a game or two seems to have no impact whatsoever. Throw them out of the league as repeat offenders. Rid yourself of the criminal element who think ‘rules’ are for someone else.
They just don’t learn do they? So they shouldn’t be in the NFL any longer. Should they?
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